NEW YORK (CNA/EWTN News) — After marriage was redefined to include same-sex couples in New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan is warning that this step could lead to a further redefinition that accepts multiple partners and infidelity.
The New York City archbishop said that in recent decades the Church has been a prophetic voice warning that no-fault divorce, contraception, cohabitation and promiscuity would lead to “a cheapening of the marriage bond and harm our kids.”
“And now we ring the steeple bell again at this latest dilution of the authentic understanding of marriage, worried that the next step will be another redefinition to justify multiple partners and infidelity,” he said.
The archbishop surveyed the effects of the June 24 passage of New York’s same-sex “marriage” law in a July 7 post on his official blog, The Gospel in the Digital Age.
In an apparent response to the argument advanced in The New York Times and elsewhere that the Church shrank from openly fighting the legislation in his state, Archbishop Dolan said he and his brother bishops “were on the frontiers” against the bill in their writings, sermons, personal lobbying and interviews.
He said the bishops were also backed up “by indefatigable efforts” from the New York State Catholic Conference, ecumenical and interreligious cooperation, and thousands of Catholic faithful.
“We have been bloodied, and bruised, and, yes, for the moment, we have been defeated. But we’re used to that. So was the Founder of our Church,” he wrote.
He said that while Catholics have no concern for political “clout” or how they’re perceived in the media, “we do worry indeed” about our freedom of religion, which could potentially be threatened by same-sex “marriage” legislation.
“Editorials already call for the removal of guarantees of religious liberty, with crusaders calling for people of faith to be coerced to acceptance of this redefinition,” he said.
Archbishop Dolan noted that, ironically, “the real forces of ‘intolerance’ were unmasked” in the debate by those defending traditional marriage being consistently depicted as “right-wing bigots and bullies.”
However, he added, “the problem is not homophobia but theophobia, a hatred by some of God, faith, religion and the Church.”
Archbishop Dolan also said he’s worried that the new law and similar legislation around the U.S. will stifle religious rights.
“If the experience of those few other states and countries where this is already law is any indication,” believers “will soon be harassed, threatened and hauled into court for their conviction that marriage is between one man, one woman,” he said.
The New York archbishop underscored that, from the outset, the goal of Catholics in the fight “was pro-marriage, never anti-gay.”
“As I replied recently to a reporter who asked if I had any message to the gay community, ‘Yes: I love you. Each morning I pray with and for you and your true happiness and well-being. I am honored that so many of you are at home within our Catholic family, where, like the rest of us, we try, with the help of God’s grace and mercy, to conform our lives to Jesus and his message.’”
Archbishop Dolan insisted that, ultimately, regardless of same-sex “marriage” legislation and subsequent intolerance for religious beliefs, the Church always has and will stand “up for marriage: one man and one woman, united in lifelong and faithful love.”
“None of this is anti-anybody, but simply pro marriage,” he wrote.
Archbishop Dolan’s full post can be read at: http://blog.archny.org/?p=1349
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It’s good to know that the bishops are working on this and are concerned for our religious freedom. I’m worried about it myself and this gives me some relief that I’m not crazy. Great article! Thanks!
The Gospel remains the same regardless of the age in which we live. My first reaction was that the article sounds as if the archbishop and the governor had a tennis match and the archbishop was being a good sport about losing. I rearely agree with the “new York Times”, but I agree with their observation to some extent that the bishops shrank from openly fighting the legislation. It appears the bishops tried as hard as they could to influence the legislature by a friendly persuasive approach using political and social arguments. They worked with other religious groups and organized letter writing campaigns against the legislation. Unfortunately they did not use all of the power of their office. Because the Catholic governor and his Catholic followers have rejected Church teachings on marriage, they are heretics. They were never designated as such as they should have been. Although automatically excommunicated by their action, no public denial of their separation from Holy Communion was made by the bishops. They were made safe from religious punishment by the bishops and religious disapproval by a sufficient number of Catholics. The gentle appoach did not win for the Church. Politicians consider tenderness the same as weakness and usually exploit the situation for their benefit. With this victory in hand enemies of the Church are encouraged to plan additional legislation to destroy Catholic worship. Perhaps as more radical restrictive legislation is proposed, the bishops will fight harder to win and concentrate less on being friends with everybody in the arena.
Too little, too late. The Archbishop Dolan is trying to close the proverbial barn door after the legislation was approved. Why didn’t the Bishops of New York demonstrably speak out against the issue before it passed the State legislatures. It is no wonder that the Church in New York State is in such dire straights. While the State’s population has increased 7.58% during the past ten years, the overall Catholic population declined by 3.6%. People are leaving the Church by the thousands and little or nothing is being done about it. Most who leave don’t see any advantage in staying.
We need strong Catholic leadership, whom the laity can be justly proud. Instead, we have a bunch of week-kneed bishops and priests who acquiesce to falsehood, cowardice, and compromise. Bishops who are afraid of preaching Catholic truth, such as those in New York, should take the collar off and repent, before they lose their salvation.
For those who consider the NY politicians who voted for marriage equality, “heretics” who should be denied Holy Communion, where would you stop? For instance, the U.S. bishops decried the “3-strike” policy in many States as utterly contrary to the gospel. Should those politicians be denied the sacraments, too?
When we had the vote on the Marriage Amendment in the Sate of Wisconsin, Archbishop Dolan was the only one who did not speak out. The other bishops were aggressive and took action. They made sure every catholic in their diocese knew were they stood. The bishop of Madison had a personal sermon broadcast in very parish in his diocese, the Sunday before the vote, so that there was no concussion on the catholic position.
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